If you … Mr Stauch, a former employee of De Beers in South Africa, took the stones to Luderitz for an expert opinion. Dilapidated buildings and houses are reclaimed by sand making it a very unique and spectacular photographic site for tourists. You can pick these up in Lüderitz (at Lüderitz Safaris and Tours). Kolmanskop Ghost Town is situated about 10 km’s inland from Luderitz. 1. These lands belong to a diamond-mining company. Join our team on a Kolmanskop Ghost Town Safari adventure. The fine desert sands are blown through the town, working their way into the abandoned houses. Kolmanskop began life in 1908 as a humble railway station located between Lüderitz and Keetmanshoop further east. Many have been motivated to seek out the small abandoned diamond mining town of Kolmaskop, swallowed by the Namib Desert because of a single image. Kolmanskop ghost town is gradually being devoured by the desert. The sands that were once swept up every morning now gather unhindered. Despite the structural damage to houses, the Namib Desert’s incredibly arid temperatures manage to uphold the existing look of the rooms, leaving the wallpaper and paint in a chilling state of preservation. Kolmanskop is a famous ghost town in the Namib desert in southern Namibia, a few kilometres inland from the port town of Lüderitz. [1] Once a small but very rich mining village, it is now a tourist destination run by the joint firm Namibia-De Beers. The inhabitants did not lack for entertainment either. The desert is coming to relentlessly reclaim its territory under an ever thickening fold of sand. Kolmanskop, Namibia’s Ghost Town in the Desert. Within a time frame of 40 years, the town of Kolmanskop in Namibia was created, flourished and was left deserted, becoming a ghost town International: +27 21 201 2484 enquiries@picciplanner.com All the available ground in the vicinity of Luderitz was quickly pegged out and claimed. 12, "Tame Impala's Kevin Parker Is Finally Ready To Embrace Fame", "New Photos from Kolmanskop, Namibia's Abandoned Diamond Ghost Town", "A Ghost Town Devoured by the Namibian Desert", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kolmanskop&oldid=1014830135, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat-VIAF identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. 1 Comment. Abandoned home at Kolmanskop ghost town flooded with windswept sand dunes. In 2002, a local private company called Ghost Town Tours was awarded the concession to manage Kolmanskop as a tourist attraction, bussing visitors into the forbidden zone … They were not disappointed, having captured EVPs of ghosts whispering in their ears after locking themselves in the abandoned meat locker of the butcher shop. Kolmanskop Ghost Town is located in a protected diamond area. The diamonds were picked off the ground and the jars filled rapidly. This chance find pulled the trigger for an unprecedented diamond rush in one of the most inhospitable regions of Africa. Pets were difficult to keep in the conditions, but one family had a pet ostrich that terrorised the townspeople. Kolmannskuppe oder Kolmanskuppe , seltener afrikaans auch Kolmanskop, ist eine aufgegebene Siedlung (Geisterstadt) im heutigen Namibia. Many fantastic movies feature the idea of the global post-apocalypse: the majority of people are gone, megalopolises that once were noisy and full of life become empty and lifeless, the winds blow through deserted buildings and wild animals occupy former human dwellings. In its heyday, the town looked very different. Kolmanskop Ghost Town. These were on the beach terraces 270km south of Kolmanskop, near the Orange River. When the rumors of the discovery, in what was then known as German South-West Africa, reached Cape Town, they were received with incredulity. This village – Kolmanskop – was equipped with every possible luxury and had facilities that were not even available in most German cities at that … Er wurde gerettet, musste jedoch seinen Ochsenkarren zurücklassen. Far on the Namib desert’s isolated and vast edge lies the uncanny structures of what once was a bustling ‘rich’ town. Namibia. An ice plant was established to make blocks to use in food coolers as well as to manufacture the town’s own delicious lemonade. It had a railway link to Lüderitz. Kolmanskop Ghost Town, Namibia. Driven by the enormous wealth of the first diamond miners, the residents built the village in the architectural style of a German town, with amenities and institutions including a hospital, ballroom, power station, school, skittle-alley, theatre and sport-hall, casino, ice factory and the first x-ray-station in the southern hemisphere, as well as the first tram in Africa. Historic photo of the Hall. Kolmanskop was used as the location for the South African TV series, The town was used as one of the locations in the 1993 film, The town was used as one of the locations in the 1994 film, The town was used in the first episode of the BBC series, Featured in 2011 on Season 1, Episode 2 Namibia/Bodie of the television show "Forgotten Planet", This page was last edited on 29 March 2021, at 09:37. The resumption of mining after the war led to the slow depletion of deposits. It is hard to imagine the difficulties of traveling there a hundred years ago, much less how it developed as a remote enclave of European luxury. The stage in Kolmanskop Recreation Club. Established in the early 1900’s, it reached a peak population of just 1300, before it was eventually abandoned in 1956, to be slowly reclaimed by the ever shifting desert sands. The town started to decline during World War II when the diamond-field slowly started to deplete. The Ghost Town of Kolmanskop. Please enable JavaScript on your browser to best view this site. Image: 214200626 Kolmanskop became a diamond hotspot. One of them is Kolmanskop … Kolmanskop is popular with photographers for its settings of the desert sands' reclaiming this once-thriving town, and the arid climate preserving the traditional Edwardian architecture in the area. In 1912, the area produced one million carats or 11.7 per cent of the world’s total diamond production. The region was administered by Germany at the beginning of the century and the town reflected this in its character. Formerly, a train line ran eastwards from the coast at Luderitz to the larger town of Keetmanshoop, where it connected with a northern line to the capital. The air in the deserted streets carries no hint of moisture. Among the gentle curves of the sand drifts and bleached stone outcrops, ornate buildings rise, defying their desolate surroundings and exuding an air of quiet dignity. Once a small but thriving diamond-mining town, Kolmanskop is now abandoned, fighting a constant battle against the devouring sands of the desert that is poised to reclaim the town back to where it belongs. The town was ultimately abandoned in 1956. km along the Atlantic shore. The desert encroaches into the buildings, gradually filling the empty rooms with smooth rolling drifts. Today, you need a permit to visit Kolmanskop. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Pinterest. First published in 2017 . Kolmanskop nowadays: an abandoned ghost town in the desert. The landscape serves as a surreal … Kolmanskop retained some importance as a supply depot for other mining operations, including those on the Orange River. Download German Kolmanskop Ghost Town Abandoned Buildings Namib Desert Stock Photography via CartoonDealer. Photographing Kolmanskop, a Ghost Town in Namibia April 18, 2020 So, it is the start of a new project and new adventures after a short break at the beginning of my Nomadic journey in Cape Town, South Africa. Instead, it now offers a fascinating insight into the lives of its former inhabitants. Zoom into our collection of high-resolution cartoons, stock photos and vector illustrations. Elaborate houses were built to accommodate the town’s architect, teacher, doctors and mining managers. This safari will explore two of the main attractions in Namibia, the ghost town of Kolmanskop and the Fish River Canyon. Due to its location within the restricted area (Sperrgebiet) of the Namib desert, tourists need a permit to enter the town. The TV show Destination Truth visited this ghost town since it is highly rumored to be haunted. The habitants had a pub, a butcher, a The houses still stand but it is the elements that are in control. Kolmanskop (Afrikaans for Coleman's head, German: Kolmannskuppe) is a ghost town in the Namib in southern Namibia, ten kilometres inland from the port town of Lüderitz. Kolmanskop (Afrikaans for Coleman's head, German: Kolmannskuppe) is a ghost town in the Namib in southern Namibia, ten kilometres inland from the port town of Lüderitz. Download all free or royalty-free photos and vectors. Here amongst the wind swept houses of Kolmanskop lies the key to a past long gone, the remains of an era where diamonds sparkled and sustained life along the coast of Namibia. This inhospitable and desolate region had been offered to the Cape government in 1885 but politely refused. The mine even paid for opera companies to be shipped from Europe to perform in this oasis. We recommend booking Kolmanskop Ghost Town tours ahead of time to secure your spot. Today, Kolmanskop is a ghost town that lies abandoned in the desert. Mr Zirkler's butchery (on the right) at Kolmanskop ghost town and Mr Brechlin's bakery on the left. When diamond fever took over at the beginning of the 20th century before WW1, Kolmanskop was a flourishing town 10km from the coast. Kolmanskop lies 850km south-west of Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, and 10km east of the isolated coastal town of Luderitz. 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